The proposed research is a longitudinal study of the development of problem drinking in adolescence. It is designed to advance understanding of the joint role of psychosocial risk factors and psychosocial protective factors in accounting for variation in involvement in and transition to problem drinking among male and female adolescents of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. The research will assess the direct influences of psychosocial risk and protective factors on adolescent problem drinking and will also examine the indirect role of protective factors in mitigating or moderating the influence of risk factors. A systematic set of psychosocial risk and protective factors, drawn from the framework of Problem-Behavior Theory, has been developed for use in the research. Other potential influences on the transition to problem drinking will also be examined, including orientation to health and life stress. Data from a four-wave longitudinal study of adolescent health, collected from 1989-1992, will be analyzed. A sample of 1501 Hispanic, Black, and White male and female adolescents drawn from an urban school population were followed over time from grades 7-9 in 1989 to grades 10-12 in 1992. At each wave, participants filled out a comprehensive questionnaire that included the assessment of drinking, problem drinking, other problem behaviors, health behaviors, and a wide range of personality and social environmental variables. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses will be carried out to examine the relevance of the set of risk and protective factors to the development of problem drinking. Analysis of covariance, hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis will be used. The study seeks to illuminate the process of becoming involved in problem drinking by examining both risk and protective factors. Concern with protective factors permits an account of individual differences in problem drinking where there is similar exposure to risk. Findings from such an approach should inform the development of intervention efforts targeted at enhancing protection as well as reducing risk.